ZHIZHI 知止 · LEARN CHINESE DAILY
步
step; pace
bù
7 strokes · 止 (foot) over 少-like foot — two footprints, one after another · HSK 2
What 步 is made of
止 + 少 = 步
少few / little / less shǎo
Where 步 comes from
Oracle-bone 步 drew two footprints, left then right — a single stride frozen in bone. One 止 is a foot at rest; stack two and you're walking through three thousand years.
步 in Chinese culture
跑步 running, 散步 strolling, 进步 progress ('advancing steps'), 一步一步 step by step. The proverb 千里之行，始于足下 — a thousand-li journey begins beneath your feet — is 步 philosophy: distance is only steps.
Example
跑步 pǎobù — running
他跑步跑得非常快。
Tā pǎobù pǎo de fēicháng kuài.
He runs extremely fast.
How to remember it
Two footprints stacked — one STEP after another.
让一步 'yield one step' is the Chinese art of de-escalation: concede a step, keep the relationship. Chess, business, and family dinners all run on it.
Same sound, different tones
Words unlocked by 步
跑步 pǎobù
running
散步 sànbù
to take a walk
进步 jìnbù
progress
Related characters
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